90 squads to ensure women's safety on Ganesh immersion day

The police plan to deploy more than 90 squads across the city to prevent crimes against women. Some of them will be equipped with video cameras to catch on camera instances of molestation and harassment, if any.

While beefing up security in Mumbai on the last day of the Ganesh festival, when the streets will be teeming with crowds and the atmosphere will be charged, one of the Mumbai police’s top concerns will be the safety of women.

The police plan to deploy more than 90 squads across the city to prevent crimes against women. Some of them will be equipped with video cameras to catch on camera instances of molestation and harassment, if any.

This is a considerable increase from the number of squads formed in previous years.

In addition, plainclothes cops will also be present in some areas.

This year, the police said, the focus will be not just on detecting and registering crimes against women but also ensuring they don’t happen at all.

Senior officers said the squads will consist of five to six police personnel, both men and women, who will coordinate with the plainclothes cops.

“When the police see a group or an individual targeting a woman, the squad corners the culprit(s) and hands him or them over to the local police,” an officer said. Citizens can also alert the police if they spot or fear any incident of molestation in a certain area, the officer said. Citizens can alert the police by calling on the helpline – 103 – or any of the Mumbai police’s control room numbers. The squad will then be alerted.

The squads will be mobile and will focus on areas that attract large crowds with lakhs of devotees, such as the Lalbaugcha Raja. The police said more than one squad would be operational in such areas.

The Mumbai police spokesperson, deputy commissioner of police Dhananjay Kulkarni, said that each of the 93 police stations in the city would have an eve-teasing squad.